Archive for the ‘Lightweight Containerboard’ Category

ECT guidelines for lightweight containerboard

February 20, 2012

Robyn asks:

With all these lightweight liners in our market place, is there a guideline (grid) that shows ECT / Liners / caliper that can be used by production when conducting their caliper testing on converted product?

A good question and one that is ahead of the curve. ECT can be estimated from the ring crush of STFI of the components and combined board calipers can be determined by the calipers of the liners. I’ll need to develop a table for you on this. Thank you for keeping me focused. Can you give me some initial guidance as to the flutes and grades you would be considering?

My next article in BoxScore addresses Expected Values of Combined E Flute and includes work on light weight medium as low as 14#/MSF.
-Ralph

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Salt Lake City Eye Opener Presentation

October 5, 2011

We will be offering in Salt Lake City at the 2011 Fall Meeting an updated presentation on the Marketing of Lightweight Containerboards and Packaging. This is the webinar that Sarilee Norton and I delivered to members in August. Come for a cup of coffee and the newest information on this hot trend. The landscape is forever changing.

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Lightweight Containerboard Production in the Northeast

April 28, 2011

Nick asked Ralph –

Do you have any statistics or even informed speculation on the extent to which lightweight board is being produced in the Northeast? Is this being done primarily by independents or are integrateds converting to this also? Speaking of which, to what extent are companies actually changing over their production to lightweight or is this still in an experimental state for most? And finally, what formally constitutes lightweight? I have heard both anything with a 28 basis weight or below, but also heard the 26 number as the point at which the term lightweight begins? Thanx for your informed answers.

—
Nick –

Lightweight combined boards are still very much in the incubation stage in the Northeast. While I have direct knowledge of a few forward looking independents who are running limited trials with both domestic or imported containerboards, it is still a very small group. This market niche is not for the intergrades as it is not a fit for their basis weight profile mix on their paper machines.

Yes there are also some forward looking domestic containerboard producers who can engineer these grades that are below 26# linerboard and 23# medium. A few have spoken to the AICC of their potentials. Most mills will not be able to make this shift without additional significant capital equipment.

-Ralph

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